New CLICCS joint working group on drivers of tropical circulation

20.02.2019
Science
Climate
Atmosphere

Ann Kristin Naumann

A new working group on drivers of tropical circulation has been introduced in the department "Atmosphere in the Earth System" at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M). The group is led by Dr Ann Kristin Naumann and is a joint project between the MPI-M and the Universität Hamburg. The group is also part of Hamburg's new cluster of excellence on "Climate, Climatic Change, and Society" (CLICCS).

Starting in January 2019 and following on two successful climate cluster predecessors, CLICCS is one of many examples where the MPI-M and the Universität Hamburg collaborate and profit from each other's expertise. The goal of the new cluster of excellence is to assess which climate futures are possible and which are plausible, based on the understanding of both climate and social dynamics. The CLICCS joint working group on drivers of tropical circulation aims to contribute to this goal by building a better understanding of the tropical heat budget, its link to the circulation system, and how these respond to warming. The focus of the group is on process understanding and the interplay between the tropical circulation and its different diabatic drivers such as radiation, microphysics, and surface fluxes.